Joshua Harkin's Blog, page 2
January 8, 2014
Review: Sand Part 2 – Out of No Man’s Land by Hugh Howey
Review: Sand Part 2 – Out of No Man’s Land by Hugh Howey
Review of Sand Part 2 – Out of No Man’s Land by Hugh Howey
January 6, 2014
January 5, 2014
Book Review - Last by Joshua Harkin
Reblogged from 5 minutes more please:
I was privileged today to read Joshua Harkin's second novel "Last" available on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HLFLOF2
Those of you that do not know Josh, he is a fellow blogger and a really wonderful writer/storyteller.
From the very first page his novel draws you in. The suspense throughout the book is captivating. You don't know what's going to happen next, but you can't stop reading.
A fantastic review from freelance writer Diana on her blog 5 minutes more please.
January 4, 2014
LAST paperback coming soon
I have just finished the createspace process and ordered the first proof for LAST. Although it is a smaller book than I have had printed in the past, I’m interested to see how it turns out. It’s such a fantastic service, and luckily I have the ability to complete the whole process without needing any help. Having gone through the process before with THE BASTION I found things to go much smoother and quicker this time, and actually enjoyed doing it.
I should be receiving the first proof by the end of the week. If all goes well it will be available for paperback purchase immediately after on the Amazon store. In the meantime you can still get LAST on the kindle store from HERE
Cheers
Joshua Harkin
January 3, 2014
The Challenges of Writing a Prequel: No Spoilers
Recently I released my second book, a novella roughly 90 pages in length, titled LAST. I decided to make the story only 90 pages long because I felt it was the perfect length for the simple idea I had. When I finished the first draft I handed it over to my wife to read through and tell me what she thought. In her honest opinion she really enjoyed this less than 2 hour read and immediately said I should write a prequel. Without giving away the plot, she wanted to know the character’s backstory in full detail, in order to understand more about why things ended the way they did in the initial story. My wife even suggested a great title, FIRST. I thought to myself what a brilliant idea, as this particular story really lends itself to a prequel.
When I wrote LAST, I made a conscious decision to give the reader just enough detail to be able to leave the story alone once they finished reading it, while also leaving a few questions unanswered. I did this to allow reader interpretation, particularly for the story’s ending. Without realising it, I had set the story up for a prequel, creating a mini-series of sorts. I’ve recently been conceptualizing various storylines for the prequel FIRST, and have come across many hurdles as follows:
How can you surprise the reader when they already know the character’s future?
This was something that plagued me immediately. If the reader knows what will eventually happen to the character, how can you create a set of events more dramatic than future ones? If the character goes through a similar level of intense moments, the story might come off as a bit unbelievable. Fortunately I overcame this by realising that there needed to be some sort of cataclysm in order for my character to get where he is in the eventual future plot.
How can you explore the same themes without going over the same storyline?
To put it bluntly, I couldn’t. For the prequel plotline to work, my character has to almost be a primitive version of his future self, one that hasn’t experienced the same moments yet. The themes in LAST are at times quite intense and psychological, as intended. This simply couldn’t be the same for FIRST without going over familiar territory.
How can you explore a big twist in the storyline without altering the future?
This was probably the hardest hurdle to overcome. LAST had many twists throughout the entire storyline. I aimed to have the reader constantly questioning how they perceived the ending would play out. This may not be achievable, given the character must reach or come close to the start of the future storyline, all while not altering it in any significant way. Fortunately, this prequel requires such an event to occur to explain the character’s future behaviour.
How can you make the story worth reading?
Another challenge. If the story is too intense it becomes unbelievable. If the story is too soft it becomes boring. Trying to find that fine line between the two is the real obstacle to overcome.
So far I’m finding the prequel format to be one that hovers between a purpose driven outcome, and a somewhat limiting scope of possibility. Either way it’s a challenge that will ultimately help me improve my writing. At least that is the plan.
Joshua Harkin
January 1, 2014
The Bastion: Character Board on Pinterest
Click here ->The Bastion: Character Board
Some inspirational images used for The Bastion’s overall design and feel.
December 30, 2013
Read the first 5 Chapters of Last for free!
Click on the above link to download a PDF copy of the first 5 chapters of LAST. If you like what you see, head over to the kindle store for the full book.
LAST by Joshua Harkin: Available Now!
Last: US Kindle Link
Last: UK Kindle Link
Last: AU Kindle Link
New Novella LAST: Now available on the Kindle store
Last: US Kindle Link
Last: UK Kindle Link
Last: AU Kindle Link
I have just finished uploading my new Novella, titled LAST. I was planning on releasing this a few months ago, but had other personal matters to attend to, unfortunately. In the past week I had LAST professionally edited using scribendi.com. I found the exercise to be quite rewarding and insightful. Not only was it a good way to fix the spelling and grammar, but also a great learning experience all round. I would love to run my first book, THE BASTION, through the same process, but can’t quite afford it at the moment, as the service is charged per word.
In regards to LAST, I am planning on writing a second novella in the series, titled FIRST. The novella will be a prequel set several years before the initial story.
LAST: book description
For the past three nights, Garrett has woken up at exactly 3:00 AM with a bloody nose, from a nightmare he can’t remember. On the third night, this strange occurrence escalates even further as Garrett’s nightmares work their way from the back of his mind and into reality.
Unsure of what is happening, Garrett’s mind explodes with unfeasible possibilities. He rapidly gains the ability to control objects with his mind, can somehow blast out waves of energy, and has superhuman strength.
Like a child learning to walk, Garrett’s abilities are uncontrollably unleashed upon the city, injuring his best friend and landing him in hot water with the police. As he is pursued through the city by trigger happy cops and swat teams, Garrett starts to wonder just how real this nightmare could be.
I hope you all enjoy the new book. Let me know what you think!
October 21, 2013
An unexpected 5 Star Review
A few months ago I contacted Larry B. Gray to review The Bastion. Larry runs a blog called Book Reviews by Larry B Gray http://bookreviewsbylarrybgray.blogspot.com.au/ where Larry gives honest reviews of books given to him by aspiring authors such as myself. He told me he would be more than happy to read my book, but warned me there would be quite a wait as he always has a backlog of books to read and review.
Time went by and I had almost forgotten about my request until I had a quick look on my Amazon page to see a new 5 Star Review sitting there as follows.
“If you enjoy science fiction with a military adventure theme you will like The Bastion by Joshua Harkin. It is full of action and adventure and will keep you reading from the start to the finish of the book.
The author did a great job of developing an interesting and intriguing storyline which was both believable and realistic. The book was fast paced and full of twist and turns, but at the same time it was easy to follow and keep up with the plotline. I was glued to the story.
I really liked the way Joshua Harkin developed his characters. In one aspect they were strong and courageous, yet at the same time he wove their weaknesses into the story. It was easy to identify with and follow each character in the story.
I enjoyed reading The Bastion by Joshua Harkin and recommend this book.
[Please note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.]“
As you will see on his blog, Larry gives out his honest opinion of everything he reads. This review brought a smile to my face as I was not expecting such a positive outcome. So thanks Larry for the kind words.
You can find the Amazon review below
September 7, 2013
Last (coming soon) – ebook cover reveal
This is the cover I will be using for my soon to be released novella titled “Last”. The background image comes from Bjorn Grane via http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1426898.
![[image error]](http://harkinjosh.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/last-cover-1.jpg){kind=link}